Fire at Port Terminal Raises Sugar Prices

A fire at Rumo sugar and grain terminal in Brazil's Santos port, the largest port in South America, broke out at 4 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Thursday, restricting operations, said a spokesman for the company controlled by sugar and ethanol producer Cosan SA.

The blaze in a warehouse was controlled within an hour, but operations were partially affected, he said.

News of the incident in the world's biggest sugar producing nation triggered a more than 4 percent rally in sugar prices .

Williams shipping service said the fire was at one of the conveyor belts that connects Rumo's warehouse XX to XXII, used for receiving cargo.